Ageing is mandatory but ageing well is optional.
Welcome to 25@50, the mid-life performance playbook for men in their mid-life who want to stay strong, sharp & professionally relevant in their lives for the next 25-30 years without pretending to be 25 again. I am not a fan of hacks or latest Insta trends, but I am a fan of systems, habits and tools that actually work.
About Me
Hi, I’m Pankaj Arora, with plenty of gray hair, based in N Delhi, India.
Why listen to me?
- I’m 50+, currently employed at a mid-sized data organisation, leading large multi-country (mostly Gen Z) teams.
- I’ve had to move cities, countries in last 15-20 years and had to figure out how to stay fit, focused and relevant while juggling work, travel, family and ageing parents.
- 25@50 is my way of turning those lessons into a playbook other men can use, not just a personal journal.
- People have often come up to me to ask my ‘secret’! There are no secrets, just plain boring consistent actions.
- Also, I’m not new to writing. I’ve been writing online since 2009/10. Besides having several published writings in well respected magazines and newspapers, two long-running blogs have shaped how I think and write:
25@50 is the most structured, carefully planned version of that journey built intentionally as a system you can actually use.
Why this name? I believe some internal switch happens with everyone at around age 25. Read on, have tried to explain below. 25@50 is not about pretending to be 25 again. It is about combining the vitality and energy of a 25-year-old with the wisdom, purpose, and confidence of a 50 year-old to make the next 25 years high value, high output.
Why I Started This Project
I see too many of us drifting into ‘maintenance mode.’ They accept lower energy and physical decline as the default price of aging. They assume it’s normal to slow down, and when they look at the future – retirement, an empty nest, they see a winding down rather than a new chapter. They fear their most relevant years are behind them. That is exactly what I started to wonder: Is this it?
Like many of you, my 40s passed in a blur of career demands and family obligations. I began to see health issues surfacing in my peers and even myself and realized I was at a crossroads.
I refused to accept a slow decline.
It forced me to look back at who I was at 25. Back then, life felt dynamic. I took risks, experimented with ideas, and spoke my mind. But somewhere along the line, I switched into ‘safe mode.’ I became serious. followed scripts written by others instead of thinking for myself.
Now in my 50s, I’ve focused on reversing that slide for several years now.
I also realized that most health/fitness advice for men was either designed for 25-year-old bodybuilders or pushed complex routines that busy professionals simply cannot sustain.
And in terms of career growth and relevance (unless you’ve already reached the pinnacle, where opportunities come to you rather than you seeking them), the guidance is equally disconnected. It’s either hustle culture mantras that lead to burnout, or generic leadership fluff that fails to address the real challenge. Or, worse, it suggests we should either be winding down toward retirement or completely reinventing ourselves from scratch. Neither is practical. We need strategies to leverage our experience, not discard it.
I think many of us keep running on defaults from when we were 25 and the idea of 25@50 is to rewrite those defaults to stay physically strong, mentally sharp and professionally relevant well into our 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
How This Site Works (and How It Was Built)
A System, Not Just a Blog: 25@50 is designed as a modular system, not a collection of random posts. You don’t need to read everything. You can simply pick one track – Strong, Sharp, or Relevant and focus entirely on that. I am also trying to build a collection of toolkits that anyone can use to assess their relative position in each of those areas.
Where to Start: I recommend taking the Three Pillar Quiz first.
- Take it based on your last 30 days (be honest!)
- It will identify your weakest area
- That is your starting point
A Note on AI & Transparency: I work in a full-time management role where time is currency. I am not a coder. Unlike my blogs from 2010, where I wrote hundreds of posts entirely by my own, I built this site with the help of AI (no surprises).
I use AI tools as a technical assistant to write the code for the interactive tools, calculators, and quizzes. For articles and playbooks, the core ideas and insights come from my daily professional experience. I then use AI as an editor to structure and refine that thinking.
I am not chasing perfection; I am chasing utility. I use technology to package my experience into use-now tools so you can stop reading and start doing.
So, if you are ready to stop reading and start doing:
Also Urge You To Subscribe
25@50: Mid-Life Performance
Every few days I will share carefully researched knowledge articles on each of the pillars – Stay Strong, Stay Sharp, Stay Relevant plus any new tools, assessments I’ve worked on. Not motivation. But real stuff you can apply now. Every idea is filtered through one question:
“Does this help me be stronger, sharper or more relevant in my 50s and beyond?”
If the answer is no, it doesn’t make it into the playbook.
My Personal Fitness Regime (if you care!)
I believe in consistency over intensity. At 5’5″ and 61 kg, I don’t train to look like a bodybuilder; I train to feel great.
- Sports: I stay active with Tennis and Badminton.
- The Routine: I aim for 8-10 short sessions a week (30–40 mins each).
- The Workout: I focus on cardio and more on bodyweight exercises – inclined treadmill walks, cross-trainer sessions, and fundamental movements like push-ups, pull-ups, lunges and squats
- No Heavy Weights: I don’t lift heavy weights but do use few machines.
- Natural Nutrition: No extreme diets. I rely on real food and few supplements like Omega 3, Glucosamine etc. to support heart and joint health.
Stay Strong, Stay Sharp, Stay Relevant